External defibrillators are emergency medical devices designed to supply a controlled electric shock (i.e., therapy) to a person's (e.g., victim's) heart during cardiac arrest. This electric shock is delivered through the pads that are electrically connected with the external defibrillator and in contact with the person's body.
To provide a timelier rescue attempt for a person experiencing cardiac arrest, some external defibrillators have been made portable, by utilizing battery power (or other self-contained power supplies). In addition, many portable external defibrillators have programming to make medical decisions making possible operation by non-medical personnel.
These portable external defibrillators, commonly known as automated external defibrillators (AEDs), including automatic and semi-automatic, have gained acceptance by those outside the medical profession and have been deployed in myriad locations outside of traditional medical settings. Due to the life saving benefits of AEDs, more and more AED are being purchased and deployed in public areas for use by the public. This allows for a rescue attempt without the delay associated with bringing the person to a medical facility, or bringing a medical facility to the person (e.g., a life support ambulance).
Individuals as well as businesses are purchasing and deploying AEDs. As time is of the essence during any rescue attempt, multiple AEDs may be purchased by any particular individual or user to allow placement at multiple locations. In the case of an individual, this could be on several floors of a home, and in the case of a business, this could be for placement throughout a facility (e.g., factory, office building, or large retail center). Thus, regardless of where the victim is within the home/facility, access to an AED would only be seconds, or minutes, away.
As indicated above, it is anticipated that many AEDs will be operated in a rescue attempt by members of the public who have none or minimal training, but none to minimal practical experience. In order to enhance the chances of a successful rescue attempt, these users will need assistance. In all likelihood, this assistance will come from the AED, in the form of instructions. Presently, AEDs incorporate both visual and audio systems to deliver instructions to a user.
The problem with present methods of delivering instructions is that the user's attention is diverted from the victim to the AED unit. More specifically, when an AED is used in a rescue attempt, a user typically is required to focus on the victim, but receives instructions from the AED unit. As a result, the user's attention is constantly being directed back to the AED unit even though the user's attention at that moment should be focused elsewhere. What is needed in the art is a better method to delivering instructions to a user, such that the user's attention is properly directed.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent for the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.